The government should file a case against China in the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over its order to detain trespassers in parts of the South China Sea that it is claiming, Senator Francis Tolentino said Sunday.

Tolentino, chairperson of the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, said the country should file a case against China because it is claiming Scarborough Shoal (Bajo De Masinloc) as part of its territory.

“It is clear in the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) that what they are doing is wrong so this is subject to another case. We can file another case against China in the ITLOS or the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). We can also file one in the International Court of Justice,” Tolentino said in an interview with dzBB.

Tolentino said only the Philippines has the right to apprehend foreigners in the area because it is clearly still part of the country’s territory.

“The place that is nearest to the exclusive economic zone or the territorial sea, which is 12 nautical miles away, is called the coastal state. It is near the coast, the shore. Hainan (in China) is far from Bajo de Masinloc, so it cannot be considered a coastal state.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said that if China continues with this regulation, the government may sue it in the Hague court.

“The Atin Ito civilian mission - a rightful and peaceful show of solidarity - clearly hit a nerve for China. But instead of responding like a dignified country, she resorts to this tyrannical tactic that will only escalate tensions even further,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Should Beijing dare push through with this illegitimate regulation, the Philippines’ hand may be forced to sue them again in the Hague Tribunal,” she said.

“China better abrogate on this shameless policy. China better stop inciting violence in our waters. China better leave the West Philippine Sea alone,” she added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS